William R. Brewster

William Root Brewster (27 July 1828-13 December 1869) was a Brigadier-General of the US Army during the American Civil War. Brewster led the Excelsior Brigade of the Army of the Potomac's III Corps during the war.

Biography
William Root Brewster was born in Goshen, Connecticut on 27 July 1828, and he later moved to New York, becoming a militia major in Brooklyn. When the American Civil War broke out, he became colonel of the 73rd New York Infantry, serving under George B. McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 and being captured and exchanged. Brewster was unhorsed while defending the Peach Orchard at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, and his 1,837-strong brigade lost 778 men in the battle. Francis B. Spinola replaced him while the sickly Brewster was ill, but he rose from his sick bed to lead the Excelsiors during the Mine Run Campaign in autumn. Brewster's brigade fought at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, and his brigade was mustered out of service on 24 October 1864, with Brewster being promoted to Brigadier-General on 2 December. He died in Brooklyn in 1869 at the young age of 41.